North Korea performed its third nuclear test today, saying that it was an act of self-defense against the United States.

According to North Korea's Foreign Ministry, today's test was the first response with maximum restraint.

"If the United States continues to come out with hostility and complicates the situation, we will be forced to take stronger, second and third responses in consecutive steps," North Korea's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

North Korea is one of the most sanctioned states for its previous nuclear tests, but after today, the U.S. and its allies plan on "augmenting" these sanctions.

"The danger posed by North Korea's threatening activities warrants further swift and credible action by the international community" said U.S. President Barack Obama. "The United States will also continue to take steps necessary to defend ourselves and our allies."

North Korea has said in the past that Washington's aim was to "eliminate the political ideology and system our people have opted for."

According to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, today's nuclear test measured "approximately several kilotons" while the first North Korean nuclear test in 2006 was under 1 kiloton and the second in 2009 was about 2-7 kilotons.

At first glance, U.S. security officials said the test seemed to use a plutonium-based prototype weapon (as did the previous two tests, but this was the latest version). More samples would have to be collected with the United States' WC-135 Constant Phoenix aircraft to determine if uranium was used.

North Korea's actions today has drawn criticism from many member states of the United Nations. The U.S., Japan, Russia, South Korea and China are a few that have denounced the test and urged North Korea to talks. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe even said that this test was a "grave threat."

China is especially upset by the test, since it is a permanent member of the Security Council and North Korea's main economic and diplomatic ally. North Korea's defiance just goes to show that Beijing doesn't have the power or influence it thinks it has with the country.

You are very delusional! There is a huge difference between free nations possessing Nuclear weapons as a deterrent to an aggressive communist regime e.g. USSR vs. a radical nut job megalomaniac leader of a country using them for black mail. America in South Korea is the only reason the country exists today; not to take away from RoK soldiers they are today some of the finest infantry in the world but when the armistice was signed Korea had nothing and even today there is no way they could stand alone against NK backed by China.

Seriously, why don't you read the news? Google "North Korea Peace Treaty" and you will see that North Korea has been pursuing a peace treaty for decades, but South Korea and the US just won't budge. Heck, if they decides to disarm like Iraq and Libya, guess what will happen to them.

There never WAS a "peace treaty" between the US and the DPRK brought to the table. What was signed nearly two decades ago during Clinton's presidency was a nuclear operational freeze agreement in exchange for US fuel-oil shipments and other perks. And this was only because the DPRK announced it was going to withdraw from the Nonproliferation Treaty. It was nothing but talks ever since and no traction could ever get done because North Korea would not agree to a basic tenant of ANY treaty: the verification measures.

If you think North Korea is so wonderful and all, why don't you just move there and tell us all we were wrong a year from now?

Yeah, the North Koreans really want peace just like Germany told the Soviet Union that it wouldn't attack them. It's just a peace of paper. Actions are what define a country and one that starves its people and spends all their money on their military is one that does not really want peace.

The problem with all North Korean peace proposals is that they refuse to recognize South Korea as a legitimate state. They see it as a puppet of the U.S., and thus all their proposed peace treaties are between the U.S. and North Korea only. This follows in line with the ceasefire negotiations which were held between the U.S. and North Korean military.

The U.S. has insisted that any permanent peace treaty has to cover all major combatants - South Korea, North Korea, The U.S., Japan, Russia (in lieu of the USSR), and China. And has to include recognition of South Korea as a legitimate state.

That's why the North Korean peace proposals have been rejected out of hand. Because what is the point of signing a peace treaty which officially declares South Korea to be a non-nation?

I'd also suggest hitting Youtube and watching some North Korean propaganda videos (especially the children's cartoons). Then you'll start to understand the paranoia and distorted worldview that governs everything North Korea says and does.

You are wasting your time on people like that. They believe what they want to believe: the US sucks and is evil and North Korea is really the good guy who is just misunderstood and just wants to have a "unified" Korea if only everyone would agree with their delusional, unicorn-worshiping world.

They can't feed their own citizens so they can't afford to invade another country. Besides, when your populace is dying from starvation and the vast majority live well below the international poverty line, yet the elite are living large ... why invade another country and upset your lavish lifestyle?

All North Korea wants is to prevent someone from stepping in and liberating their citizens from an oppressive regime. I feel awful for the average North Korean and wish there was something other than sanctions (which just make things worse) could be done about it.

wait, why are you butthurt again? We are trying to get their government to change their ways and give their people freedom. They don't have the internet or anything up there, no information other than what their state feeds them. The US hasn't wanted to do much more than that. The NK govt didn't want their populace to be informed and started to get hostile when other countries looked and saw that. And ya that whole thing with South Korea, whom we HELP. I'm not in favor for a lot of the stuff we do but you sound like 1 of those idiots who just spouts stuff off to be cool in the whole "hating america" thing.

If I were S. Korea, I'd be firmly supportive of having 30,000 US troops within my borders. Let's take the example of Mali. A democratic state which fell victim to a military coup (and continues to be led by the coup's leader behind the scenes). What did everyone do there? The French went in to stabilise the nation from Islamic nuts and that's about it. A whole democracy hangs in the balance and we're now training/arming the very institution that is responsible for that.

You have to love global politics. Middle East - Throw all toys out of the pram when oil threatened and Iran squawks. Asia - Limit Chinese influence. Africa - Pretend it doesn't exist.